Social Support, Perceptions of Attractiveness, Weight, and the CPI in Socially Anxious Males and Females

Abstract

To see how socially anxious people function in a number of domains, Watson and Friend's (1969) Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD) was administered to 101 undergraduates along with the California Personality Inventory (CPI) and the Psychosocial Support Inventory (PSI), a measure of social support. Additionally, a perceived attractiveness measure and various measures related to being overweight were taken. SAD scores correlated significantly in a negative direction with 13 of the 18 CPI scales, and those with high SAD scores had poorer social support networks. High SAD scores also were related to the perception of being overweight, but not to perceived physcial attractiveness or to actually being overweight. Gender differences showed that females had more intimate social interactions and that socially anxious females relied more on their family for social support than did other people. Overall, the results suggested that the socially anxious person may have deficits in a variety of personal and interpersonal domains.

Department(s)

Psychological Science

Comments

Frances M. Montgomery published as Frances M. Haemmerlie

Keywords and Phrases

Adult; Anxiety; Avoidance Behavior; Female; Human; Intimacy; Male; Normal Human; Obesity; Personality; Physical Attractiveness; Psychological Aspect; Sex; Sex Difference; Social Work; Anxiety Disorders; Beauty; Body Weight; Esthetics; Personality Inventory; Psychometrics; Social Environment; Social Perception; Social Support; Stereotyping

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0021-9762

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 1988 John Wiley & Sons Inc., All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1988

Link to Full Text

Share

 
COinS